Rams football take another step

September 30, 2008|By Andy Sneddon News-Review Sports Editor

Three weeks ago, the Harbor Springs football team ended a 12-game losing streak.

On Friday, the Rams won again to improve to 2-3. Friday's win, 26-12 over winless Kalkaska, is perhaps more telling about how far the program has come under second-year coach Jud Silveus than the first victory was.

"It was just absolutely fabulous," Silveus said of the mood surrounding the Rams' Ottawa Stadium on Friday. "I really believe they're starting to believe in themselves, to see that we can win ball games, that they're as good as I and all (my assistant) coaches think they are."

Harbor's first win this season was a 45-0 pasting of Big Rapids Crossroads Academy, a school that has yet to win a game in its brief two-year football history.

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Friday's victory over the Blazers was Harbor's first home win in four years. Kalkaska may be 0-5 and experiencing the inevitable downswing that any public school does, but it's no newborn baby when it comes to football. The Blazers are a Class C school, just like Harbor, and were 2-7 last year, 3-6 in the previous two years, and made the playoffs as recently as 2002. Yeah, Kalkaska's down, but it isn't moribund.

Harbor's two victories are one more than the school had in the previous four seasons. When the Rams - a co-op program between Harbor Springs and Alanson high schools - beat East Jordan, 26-20, in overtime on Oct. 6, 2006, it snapped a 21-game losing streak. The Rams followed that with 12 straight losses until they beat Crossroads Academy.

But more important than winning two games is what Silveus has seen in all five games this year: Progress - tangible reach-out-and-touch-it, show-it-to-the-kids-on-film progress.

The Rams scored 20 points in a season-opening loss to Rudyard, surpassing the number of points they scored in the entire 2007 season. Then came the win against Crossroads Academy and a 45-20 loss to Elk Rapids during which the Rams outplayed the Elks in the first half.

Harbor's three losses have come to teams - Rudyard, Boyne City and Elk Rapids - that are a combined 12-3 and two of those, Elk Rapids and Boyne, are no doubt headed to the playoffs.

Friday's win certainly tasted good to Silveus and his players, and he saw something in his team after Kalkaska had grabbed a 12-0 lead, scoring on an interception return and a punt return.

That something was determination.

"What really showed me something about these boys is that last year, if we had gotten down two touchdowns, it would have been over," Silveus said. "You could kind of feel it in the stadum, it was like, We can't do this again."

They didn't.

Down two TDs, the Rams went on a long drive and quarterback Pete Wendland found Matt Vandermus for a touchdown pass to cut Harbor's deficit to 12-6.

The drive - that TD pass - may have signaled that Harbor has turned the page. The Rams reeled off 26 straight points and its defense did its job, blanking the Blazers the rest of the way.

One key, Silveus said, was Wendland's decision-making. Another was the defense.

"It was all of them, the whole defense did great," Silveus said. "It's something we really worked on, making sure everybody stuck to their responsiblities and played their own spot. They didn't get out of position."

One player who symbolized that committment to responsibility - a crucial element for any defense at any level - was cornerback Josh Boeckman. Time and again, Kalkaska threw deep to Boeckman's side, hoping for a momentum-changing game-breaking big play.

It never happened.

"He just kept playing ball and did a great job," Silveus said.

More than halfway through the season and the Rams have turned some corners, taken some big steps. Sure, there's a long way to go, but Harbor has come a long way in the season-and-a-half under Silveus.

The Rams play host to Grayling, 3-2, in their homecoming game on Friday, then play at Traverse City St. Francis, 4-1, the following week. After that, it's a date with East Jordan and the season finale at home against Charlevoix.

"I'm looking forward to pracitce," said Silveus, who coached the current group of seniors when they played on the JV team in 2006. "It was so tough last year. It's a whole different year this year. Not only (because of) the wins, but when we play well, even in the games we've lost, that has bred confidence.

"This is my third year with this group and all the things that I have been coaching and telling them for three years, it feels like it's coming to fruition now."